Employment Books

This is a very good book. It gives a lot of insight into labor laws and issues, and rights of the union stewards. It is a definite must buy for every union steward or aspiring union steward.

This book should be the first thing any new union officer reads and as a long time union officer I read it at least once a year to refresh myself. As president of my local union I make sure all of our officers and stewarts have their own copy to read and refer back to as they have need to. "The Legal Rights of Union Stewarts", answers many questions and provides a knowledge base for more indepth learning.

I've been a steward for 2 years and heard of this book from a fellow steward. It has been very informative, helpful, and it is in a condensed format thereby making it user friendly.

Most of the textbooks in macroeconomics (Blanchard, Mankiew and Gordon) focus on basic IS-LM and AS-AD models which are useless in open economies. This book is perfect upgrade for everybody who has read basic macroeconomics textbooks and wants to go further. There is economic history review, everithing is based on imperfect labour markets and salter-swan diagram is perfectly implemented in standard macroeconomics tools together with IS-LM model.

Ten years ago, by coincidence, I saw this book. I bought it, and since then I have recommended it to all my colleagues.
At that time, the book was new and contained all the most recent developments in the journals (it ends with hysteresis - well explained and at that moment a brand new topic in the journals).
But what I find more important is that this is the only book I read where all those journal-stuff was fitted into a coherent frame-work; for the first time I really understood what macro-economics (and their micro foundations) was all about.
Up till then, I had seen only fragmented pieces of macro theory and here these authors came with a coherent view, which would have taken myself years to fit together, and I was sorry that this was not the handbook I had at university.
I don't follow-up this field anymore, and the book has not been updated anymore since then (a pity I think) but I write this review out of gratitute for the insights the authors gave me: I finally realized that in this book all the pieces were fitted together and allowed me to really understand macro-economics.
Personally, I can only recommend it.

One of the best macroeconomics textbooks in the market.First of all it contains an excellent chronological survey of models. But above all, its approach based on wage bargain and mark-up pricing has great relevance in terms of real world phenomena, in contrast to most mecroeconomic textbooks based in the unrealistic competitive model. The main contribution is to set an scenario for a feasible and intelligent social negotiation and for economic policy, instead of definitive "natural" outcomes of economic performance. I hope the authors keep on updating this book

Jorge Ibarra. National University of Mexico

I am currently researching teaching opportunities in Japan, and they are plentiful. While I have yet to go to Japan, reading Don Best's book has answered a lot of questions I had had (e.g. how can one afford to live in Japan?). It includes information on the English industry in Japan, qualifications for teaching, suggested preparation before leaving for Japan, finding jobs, surviving in Japan, the interview (including hints on creating a demonstration lesson), pay, work visas, and settling in.

One concern I had was that this book was written in 1994. I wrote to two address in the book and both letters were sent back to me claiming the addresses were incorrect. I suggest checking (possibly through internet searches) addresses before writing to them. There are also a lot of informative websites to check out. If you are looking to get hired from outside Japan, look for websites of these employers: Aeon, Nova, Geos, Berlitz, and ECC.

Overall, this book seems like an excellent place to start if you're interested in teaching English in Japan. Even if some of the information may be outdated, it answers a lot of questions that readers will have about teaching in Japan and about Japan itself.

Just returned from teaching in Japan. The truth is that finding a job is a lot more difficult than it was, say 5 years ago. But if you are the least bit interested, this is by far the best book available. Felt like I had a friend telling me the ins and outs of how to get my job. If you are really interested in the experience then go for it!

I taught English in Japan for about 2 years in the mid 90's. The experience was fantastic, and I made some of the best freinds of my life. Unfortunately, I read this book after the fact (after I had my job), but I certainly could have avoided some of the common pit-falls. This book really tells it like it is, and is a MUST BUY for anyone contemplating the adventure of a life-time.

In this story Mary -Kate Olsen and Ashley Olsen have three wonderful friends. Lauren, Tanya, and Brittany. They are always there for each other but, when one of them gets an idea theres going to be trouble . As Ashley's computer teacher assigns her a project which she turns into a love-link. Peoples hearts are broken and every ones comeing after Ashley, and between this and the two parties they are planning it's chaos. I laughed so hard

LIKE, OMG!!!! THIS BOOK IS SOOOO OFF THE HOOK!!! MY GIRLFRIENDS AND I READ THIS AND CRIED BECAUSE IT WAS SO TOUCHING!! THE WAY MARY KATE AND ASHLEY AND THEIR FRIENDS HANDLE THE PRESSURES OF EVERYDAY LIFE REALLY INSPIRED ME!!! MARY KATE AND AHSLEY ARE MY HEROES FOREVER!!! IF YOU HAVE NOT READ THIS BOOK, YOU REALLY SHOULD. IT IS SOOOOOOOO GOOD!!! MY GIRLFRIENDS AND I CRIED AT THIS BOOK BECAUSE IT WAS SO TOUCHING AND REAL!!!

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What a cool book! Very awesome indeed. The whole thing at the hot teen magazine is really sort of a school newspaper run by a former magazine person, but it's still a cool story about Mary Kate's scheming co-worker. It's fun to watch Mary Kate bust her! And Ashley has started a dating service at the coffee place and comes across a Mystery Man who is looking for THE perfect girl. You'll be surprised at who the man is, and who the girl is! A great read for both people who do and don't like books!

Janet is an expert in this field. As the largest military to civilian placement firm, we believe she delivers a valuable perspective for service members who are currently transitioning or planning to transition to the civilian workforce.

Bradley-Morris, Inc. (BMI) - Delivering Military-Experienced Talent to America's Top Companies

Job Search was wrote by a retired military Officer who understand transitoning formthe military to civilian job market. Dave Henederson provides worthwhile advice, examples, and smaple resumes, to incluse cover leters. Lots of tips built on experience to make a successful transition. I recommend this book as the first book for anyone transitoning fromthe military to civilian jobs. Also a great refreasher if you're alredy in the workforce and thinking about making a career change.

This book has been very helpful during my transition from the military. It is very clearly written. The checklists, samples, and examples have come in handy, while the personal perspective of the author (her military spouse retired while she was writing the book) made this an invaluable tool. My copy is becoming very dog-earred, a true testimony to how often I have referred to it over the last few months. I'm glad I picked this one up, despite that it's a bit US Army centric, but of course flexibility is the key to air power.

The book starts painfully slowly and drags on for several chapters, but don't give up. It eventually takes us through decades of American history seen from the eyes of workers, factory owners and, finally, globalizing financiers. One learns how the racist governor of Mississippi, Ross Barnett, inadvertently contributed to integration by attracting northern factories to his state in the Johnson era. We learn that the Mexicans started attracting US factories in the same era, the 1960s. And we get a picture of the rise and fall of the US labor movement, as well as examples of the crimes of the Teamsters. The transition from emphasis on product-quality to 'profits at any cost', the heart and soul of the philosophy of globalization via deregulation, in the age of leveraged buyouts and junk bonds is accurately and concisely described.

Lyndon Johnson gave us the Vietnam War, a terrible mistake in US foreign policy. But for those of us who grew up in the south or border states and can tell you what life was like under segregation, Lyndon was a real hero when it came to civil rights enforcement. In my Ky. town in the fifties, before the civil rights Act was passed, the only thing that was integrated was little league baseball. I still remember listening to the daily news from Alabama and Mississippi in the early sixties, beatings, murders, acts that were consistent with a fascist state government, but not a democratic one. Southern states like Mississippi used the same excuse for brutality against blacks, union organizers, and civil rights workers that Hitler and the Nazis used against the Jews and socialists: right wing violence and killing 'protected' society from 'the communist threat'.

Since about the time NAFTA passed Congress, we have heard endless paeans of praise for free trade, the mobility of capital, and the new competitive global economy. We have heard less about the costs of globalization. This book takes the free trade issue and brings it down to earth by showing how jobs that originated in Paterson, New Jersey were sent to Mississippi, and later on Mexico, by corporate conglomerates searching for higher profits and a pliable, docile (and above all cheaper) workforce. The book focusses in on one firm, Universal, which specializes in making electrical fixtures. At first, the firm offers good jobs at good wages to all comers in New Jersey. However, as the founder of the company sells his interest out to a large railroad conglomerate, the firm heads south for cheaper labor....and then south again into Mexico. The story of how these jobs migrate is also the story of how institutions that are supposed to protect the American worker fail that worker in the end. Labor unions become complacent and somnolent, spending more resources on jurisdictional disputes and factional feuding than on organizing the workers. And when they aren't lazy, they are corrupt, doing deals with the Mafia for added perks. Federal agencies pull back from their duties as the nation drifts to the right. Read the segment in this book on how the U.S. Commerce Department (funded in great part from employee taxes) cheered on American businesses relocating to Mexico and your blood will boil. Read the segment on the so-called transitional assistance offered to displaced American workers (pamphlets given to people in their 40s and 50s on how to join the army) and you will get apoplexy. The book ends on an especially bitter note, as the conglomerate prepares to move to an even more depressed area of Mexico, with a woman worker wailing "must I chase my job all over the world?" Indeed.

In a larger, balance sheet sense, globalization may be beneficial. But ultimately, as Mr. Adler makes it clear with this well-written, thoroughly documented book, somebody is footing the bill with a lost job, a defaulted mortgage, missing benefits, and dread of the future.

Among the various beliefs which make up the American civil religion surely the dogma of Free Enterprise is dominant. Business and enterprise have made us the best, richest, freest, and most just country in the world. Almost any action can be explained and excused as an economic necessity; whether downsizing, i.e. firing your workers, or moving the plant or polluting the environment. The company must remain competitive, and the firm profitable. Free Enterprise is good for you, ever and always. As Ivan Boesky put it, six months before he went to prison for three years: "Greed is alright. You can be greedy and still feel good about yourself." (P. 241) This story deals with the effects of American industrial progress over the past fifty years, not in abstract terms and numbers, but in the history of what happened to Mollie James' Job as it went south to more liberal climes, where wages are low, unions weak, environmental laws unenforced, and workplace safety nonexistent. The book reads very well, almost like a novel, but it deals with real people, names, and places. In fact, it is a good idea to keep a map handy to follow the action from Paterson, New Jersey, to Mendenhall and Gallman, Mississippi, to Blytheville, Arkansas, and Matamoros, Mexico. The action begins at the end of the War with an immigrant, go-getter, entrepreneur who builds an electrical components company from nothing. A classical, paternalistic workplace in which the boss works alongside his employees and knows everyone by name. He even welcomes organized labor for electricians will not install his product unless it bears a union label. Yet, neither he nor his workers can rid themselves of a crooked and corrupt teamster local. In the early sixties the company expands into rural Mississippi, a county without equal rights, without NAACP, much less CORE or SNCC. It is a place where the whites celebrated the assassination of President Kennedy. Yet, it is the company which in many ways escorted the region into the late twentieth century. In control of the only work and wages and backed by federal law the company could defy the Klan, the Sheriff, and the white newspapers, by insisting on an integrated workforce. Which, incidentally, helped to hold down wages as well. The founder's death in 1968 marked the passing of an era of management by men who thought as industrial manufacturers. While he venerated the bottom line as much as any capitalist, he achieved success by "a steely-eyed focus on high quality and customer service"(p. 220). The company was sold to a multi-branched electrical products company, which soon after was swallowed whole by another conglomerate. It thus fell into the hands of people who had no idea of the realities of production, nor did they have any interest in the nuts and bolts of the operation. In fact, the company, now a mere subsidiary, changed hands several times in the financial go-go years of the eighties. By now the personal relationships and life long job security of the early days were well forgotten. A cavalier attitude infected all aspects of the company. A director of human resources fired many of the old line leaders and executives. The company used their new maquiladora plant in Mexico to hold a loaded gun to the union local's negotiation committee. Reduce hourly pay or we close the plant. None the less, the reprieve was brief. Workers in Mexico earned as much in day as Americans in an hour, and by 1997 all manufacturing operations in the U.S. were shut down. Wages in Mexico were insufficient to raise a family. Workplace conditions are described as stiflingly hot, with air unbreathable from polluting chemicals, and without break, cafeteria, or adequate toilets. Living conditions were not one whit better. Yet, young women workers continued to stream in from the rural areas. At the end, ironically we may all "Thank God for NAFTA" the title of the epilogue.

This book really helped me after the birth of my first child. So much info and support for all the things that nobody prepares you for. All the birth prep focuses on the actual birth, nothing for the feelings and challenges afterwards as a new Mom. This book does that. Especially helpful to me was the section on PPD.

Read it, before you need it!

As a new mom and as a therapist specializing in postpartum issues, I highly recommend this book. It's an excellent resource for families expecting a baby, covering important topics such as postpartum depression and anxiety, building a support network, and how to plan for the postpartum period in order to make a smooth transition into parenthood.

I found this book to be an excellent comfort, as well as a great practical resource. The book sensitively and honestly addresses the wide range of emotions I experienced after my child's birth--many of these emotions I didn't expect, and some scared me. I recommend this book to any expectant parent--I found it reassuring to turn to for support.

This is one of the best practical books I've ever read, with a wealth of tips, tactics and examples. It shows you how to get a plum position in today's aggressive job market, from resumes and cover letters, to searches, contacts and interviews.

This was THE book that made the difference in writing my own resume, as well as writing resumes for others. Tepper's power resume approach consists of identifying value-added benefits (as in the kinds of problems you can solve), not features (as in job duties and responsibilities), that show a hiring manager what you as the applicant can add to the bottom line...without saying it. It shows you how to carefully match your qualifications with the requirements of top jobs using 10 power resume ingredients that can also be incorporated into your job search. Although this book takes awhile to read, and it is geared towards those in the executive job market, the techniques learned here will stay with you forever.

While Ron Tepper geared this book to the executive job market, the techniques and concepts are transferrable to other sectors. This one book made me change the way I presented myself, and my resume to prospective employers, and how I taught my clientele to write resumes.
Make this book one of the top three in your career planning library. Perfect for resume creation specialists, and job seekers alike.

Preferential policies based on ethnicty/race have been around for decades and have been used in many cultures. Thomas Sowell does an excellend job of bringing toghether a history of such programs.

In the first part of the book, Sowell deals with results of preferential policies. He looks at such issues as majority preferences in majority economies (such as the treatment of minority groups in America and Nazi Germany), majority preferences in minority economies (such as north Nigerians in Nigeria, Sinhalese in Sri Lanka and Maharashtrians in the Indian state of Maharashtra), and minority preferences in majority economies such as preferential policies towards 'untouchables' in India and minorities in America.

The second portion of Sowell's book deals with the illusins of ppreferential policies such as pitfalls in the agruments and why such programs have not been sucessful as they had planned on being such as creating violence/increating tensin between groups and the ability of such programs to be successful.

Preferential policies are those that treat citizens differently under the law. Sowell analyzes problems of nationality, class, ethnicity, gender, etc. under the umbrella of preferential treatment. His research demonstrates that these seemingly disparate issues share many things in common.

Sowell analyzes preferential policies from a global and causal persepctive. When preferential policies are implemented across many different countries, Sowell raises three questions. First, What "problem" do preferential policies seek to redress? Second, what intended and unintended consequences arise after implementation? Finally, Do preferential policies acheieve their intended effect? Or do they merely aggravate the situation?

These policies usually arise out of "good intentions," whereby one group seeks to equalize their outcome by changing the law to their preference. (For an excellent discussion of equal outcomes vs. equal processes, see Sowell's A Quest For Cosmic Justice) His research shows that whenever countries employ preferential policies, the intended objectives are never met. Second, the unintended consequences usually involve violent backlash, group conflict, and civil war. Finally, using an economic analysis of race, Sowell explains that since preferential policies are inefficient, they usually end in widespread economic disaster.

Sowell identifies three types of preferential policies, which are then analyzed using the three aforementioned questions. The first type of preferential policy occurs when the majority has more legal rights than the minority. (e.g. Malays and Chinese) The second occurs when the minority has more legal rights than the majority. (e.g. South Africa) The third, and perhaps the worst, occurs when one group has more legal rights than an equally large second group. (e.g. The Tamils and Sinhalis in Sri Lanka)

This book is a shattering indictment of political collectivism. Group rights (a clearly contradictory notion), which are the consequences of preferential policies, have failed all over the world. The normative message is clear: the United States would be wise to avoid the path of Rwandas, Malasyas, and Sri Lankas by eschewing the collectivist nightmares that come as a consequence of preferential policies.

In 1990 the Indian Government precipitated riots and episodes of self-immolation with a promise to provide more university places and public service jobs for the lower caste 'untouchables'. Readers of "Preferential Policies" will not find these events surprising because they have happened before in other countries following the introduction of preference policies. Perhaps the most tragic example is the civil war in Sri Lanka.

This book is a historical and comparative study of the strong form of affirmative action whereby the members of supposedly deprived or under-privileged groups become the beneficiaries of government-mandated preferences. These set aside the principles of merit and freedom of choice so that different individuals are no longer judged by the same criteria or subjected to the same procedures.

Sowell describes the various patterns of behaviour and outcomes generated by preferential policies of different kinds. These include preferences for the economically dominant group (South Africa and the old US deep south), majority preferences in economies dominated by minorities (Malaysia, Sri Lanka,) and minority preferences in economies dominated by the majority (contemporary USA and India). The second part of the book explores the errors and muddled thinking which keep preferential policies in place even when they fail to produce the desired effects. Indeed, the very failure of policies which were supposed to be limited and temporary often leads to stronger preference initiatives.

Prior to Sowell's research it appears that hardly anyone paid systematic attention to the gap between the rhetoric and the reality of preference policies. Nor had anybody noticed the depressing similarity in the pattern of events which Sowell records all around the world. Generally the demand for preferential policies comes from well educated, 'new class' members of supposedly disadvantaged groups. The same people also become the main beneficiaries of preference policies which tend to further disadvantage the majority of their bretheren. This was clearly demonstrated in Malaysia where the gap between rich and poor Malays widened in the wake of preference policies for ethnic Malays. A leading advocate of preference conceded the evidence but claimed that the poor Malays preferred to be exploited by their own people.

The most destructive result of preference policies is the polarization of whole societies, as in Sir Lanka, Nigeria (with the attempted Ibo breakaway movement to form Biafra) and some Indian states. The Sri Lankan experience is especially instructive because at the time of independence the Tamil minority and the Sinhalese majority lived side by side in harmony despite their different religions and languages and despite the greater educational and commercial advancement of a section of the Tamils. The elites of both groups tended to be English speaking, mixed freely with each other and were committed to non-sectarian policies. All this changed with one demagogue, S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike. English-speaking, Christian and Oxford-educated, he became a champion of the Sinhalese language, Budhism and preferential treatment for Sinhalese. This resulted in an upset electoral victory for his party in 1956, followed by legislation to make Sinhalese the official language, restriction of the leading teacher-training college to Sinhalese only, and the first of many bloody race riots directed against the Tamils. The downward spiral continued as radical Sinhalese elements demanded stronger forms of preference and groups of Tamils launched a violent secession movement.

If preferential policies do not work, then what is to be done to overcome prejudice and discrimination against particular groups? One way is to rely on market forces backed up by the slow and steady effects of education and example. Of course this process is far too slow and unexciting to satisfy people who would happily see blood shed to realise their dreams. However the power of market forces in this context is that prejudice is free but discrimination has a price. Sowell reports that the streetcar operators in many Southern cities initially defied the 'Jim Crow' legislation that required segregated transport. Something similar has come about in South Africa after some generations of apartheid enabled the 'poor whites' to rise above the black masses, so that some of the Africaners reached the business class.

'Some of the principal beneficiaries of apartheid became its critics, now that their new role as employers forced them to confront the costs of discrimination. The rise of influential business interests within the ruling Nationalist Party has been partly responsible for the slow but widespread erosion of apartheid that began in the 1970s'.

Australia only receives a brief mention as a country where preferential policies 'are still at the stage of optimistic predictions.' If the lessons of this book are assimilated they will remain in that situation. Affirmative action has not yet taken the form of quotas or positive discrimination on a significant scale. Entry to employment and progression on the job are still supposed to reflect merit, and anti-discrimination policies are designed to eliminate unfair hiring and promotion practices. In the US a recent buzzword is 'managing diversity' which means tapping the full potential of all workers in the firm. The aim is to eliminate the confrontational and coercive elements of affirmative action and build a co-operative and creative culture in the workplace.

Turning from the historical record of preferential policies, Sowell examines some of the ideas which support them. He describes these as the illusions of control, knowledge, morality and compensation. Hovering behind them all is one of the great superstitions of modern times, namely the doctrine of Salvation by Political Action. If only people can have the vote, obtain national self-determination, be free of colonial rule etc then utopia is at hand. However one of the great advances in modern politics was the achievement of limited government, and this was essentially a pre-democratic development. This is not to deride the institutions of Parliamentary democracy, merely to warn that they are under increasing strain from the expectations that are placed on State activity (such as preference policies).

"Race For Success" is the fuel necessary to participate in this marathon called "Life." An unsually powerful and unique combination of sound principles, historical perspective, motivation, knowledge and resources, the book is a true call to action. It is a tool for personal growth, economic empowerment, community revitalization, and much, much, more.

This book was an awesome read. Fraser was focused and expected nothing but the best from himself and others. He recognized the role that race plays in our society; however, he refused to allow it to limit his personal or business life. He offered insight on how to succeed as a minority in corporate America by encouraging and promoting racial pride, self-help, and self-development. This book will encourage anyone, however it should be required reading for all minorities. In spite of all of life's challenges, including the color of my skin, the author inspired me to push, dig, fight, and expect to win this game called life.

This book is tremendous. It actually exceeded my expectations. This is one of those rare times when a book lived up to it's hype. I have already read certain parts over again. It serves as a constant source of inspiration. It g ives you an opportunity to focus on the areas of interest to YOU. My favorite sections is the contact information in the back of the book, and the seven morals and principles of success.